1. I totally prepared ahead of time. I made sure that everyone's back packs were packed and Harry and Jack had lunches the night before. I helped everyone lay out their clothes. I packed Dorothy's dance bag with her ballet and hip hop shoes, the doll she needs for her ballet number, a snack and a water bottle for both her and Cooper, and a backpack full of toys for Coop. I even packed hockey dinners and put them in the fridge and pre-wrote a monthly check for Jack's tutor and made sure it was in the car with his tutoring binder. This ensured that everything was at my fingertips as our hectic schedule snowballed and that I could use the kids' school time for me, not for prep work.

2. I got up at 5 but instead of working out, I mashed the start button on my pre-filled coffee pot and snuggled up on the couch with a blanket to make my writing goal, work on my adjunct online class discussions, and take care of other writing tasks.

3. By the time I picked Dorothy and Cooper up from school and had to do all of the things, I was exercised and dressed, the house was clean except for the kitchen which we were going to trash with lunch anyway, and all the day's laundry was done and put away. Basically, I had nothing else to do all day, so the stress of all the kid-errands was the only item on my list to cope with, and with no work hanging over me, it wasn't that stressful. I could have taken a nap, even, but instead I made a delicious Whole30 dinner that Ben and Harry and I all ate when we got home from Harry's junior high open house.

Speaking of that, it was lovely. I am so excited that he going to such a huge (600 kids!) and fun school next year. All of the kids were beyond excited to see the Gatorade cooler and ice cream freezer in the cafeteria, and I was charmed by the student-produced video announcements. Our 8th grade tour guide was possibly the mot adorable person I have ever encountered, and the principal and teachers seemed bright and energetic. the whole pace was student-centered. That's there mission statement, and it seems to be the real deal. We're all really excited. Except school STARTS at 7:35 am, so that's brutal.

And speaking of the Whole30-- its really fucking hard. But I have noticed how many times I have not eaten a bite of the kids' food (and when I say a bite, I mean ALL OF THEIR DINNER LEFTOVERS) already, and if I could just cut out that kind of mindless snacking, my life would be transformed.

I eat and shop healthy anyway, I jut also pile on cookies and wine on top of all of the good foods, so the grocery shopping and meal planning in NBD. The not eating a bagel for breakfast? Sucks.

We had another dollar-store fueled V-day crafting session (and by we, I mean Dorothy, Cooper, and Jack). Now all they have to do is write their names and their friends' names on them. Phew!

Cooper used ALL OF THE GLUE but the whole time he was using it, he wa saying "Dot, do, not a lot." It SLAYED me.

Ben just happened to leave a bowl full of these on the table on his way to work the first day of the Whole30. he also picked that day to bring home a huge box of truffles a student gave him for Christmas.

Dorothy cannot take her eyes off her reflection in dance class.

AREN'T THEY ADORABLE?!

This breakfast was the best thing I have ever eaten because I was STARVING.

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About Me

I have a PhD in rhetoric, and I work at a ginormous university. I also work at home with my 4 kids: Harry who is a third- grader, Jack, who is a first-grader, Cooper, who is a preschooler, and Dorothy, who will tell you she's 2.
Email me at harrytimesjackedup@gmail.com